Ayodhya dispute: Supreme Court reserves order on appointing mediator
The SC observed the case was not only about property, but also about sentiment, faith
The SC observed the case was not only about property, but also about sentiment, faith
The SC observed the case was not only about property, but also about sentiment, faith
The SC observed the case was not only about property, but also about sentiment, faith
The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on whether the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute can be settled through mediation. During the hearing on the Ayodhya dispute, the Supreme Court said it was conscious of the gravity of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute and the outcome of mediation on the body politic of the country.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the Ayodhya dispute was not only about property but also about sentiment and faith. "It is not only about property. It is about mind, heart and healing, if possible," the bench—also comprising Justices S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S.A. Nazeer—said.
"We are not concerned about what Mughal ruler Babur had done and what happened after. We can go into what exists in the present moment," the bench said.
The Supreme Court had asked the contesting parties to explore the possibility of amicably settling the decades-old dispute through mediation, saying it may help in "healing relations".
Fourteen appeals have been filed in the Supreme Court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgement, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties—the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.